The Forum meets annually under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council for eight days, including a three-day ministerial segment and every four years at the level of Heads of State and Government under the auspices of the General Assembly for two days.

Please click here to visit the web page of HLPF 2019 under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council.

As part of its follow-up and review mechanisms, the 2030 Agenda encourages member states to “conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels, which are country-led and country-driven” (paragraph 79). These national reviews are expected to serve as a basis for the regular reviews by the HLPF. As stipulated in paragraph 84 of the 2030 Agenda, regular reviews by the HLPF are to be voluntary, state-led, undertaken by both developed and developing countries, and shall provide a platform for partnerships, including through the participation of major groups and other relevant stakeholders.

encourage high-level system-wide participation of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes and invite to participate, as appropriate, other relevant multilateral financial and trade institutions and treaty bodies, within their respective mandates and in accordance with United Nations rules and provisions;

improve cooperation and coordination within the United Nations system on sustainable development programmes and policies;

promote transparency and implementation by further enhancing the consultative role and participation of major groups and other relevant stakeholders at the international level in order to better make use of their expertise, while retaining the intergovernmental nature of discussions;

promote the sharing of best practices and experiences relating to the implementation of sustainable development and, on a voluntary basis, facilitate sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned;

strengthen the science-policy interface through review of documentation, bringing together dispersed information and assessments, including in the form of a global sustainable development report, building on existing assessments;

enhance evidence-based decision-making at all levels and contribute to strengthening ongoing capacity-building for data collection and analysis in developing countries; and

promote system-wide coherence and coordination of sustainable development policies.

Follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals

The Forum facilitates the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned and provides political leadership, guidance and recommendations for follow-up. It promotes system-wide coherence and coordination of sustainable development policies. It ensures that the 2030 Agenda remains relevant and ambitious and focuses on the assessment of progress, achievements and challenges faced by developed and developing countries as well as new and emerging issues. Effective linkages are made with the follow-up and review arrangements of all relevant United Nations conferences and processes, including on least developed countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries.

The HLPF also undertakes annual thematic reviews of the SDGs including cross-cutting issues. As decided in General Assembly resolution 70/299, the themes of and the sets of SDGs to be reviewed by the HLPF under the auspices of ECOSOC from 2017 to 2019 are:

Follow up and review at the HLPF is informed by an annual progress report on the SDGs prepared by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The most recent report is available here.. The HLPF is also informed by the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), which strengthens the science-policy interface and is issued every four years (E/HLS/2016/1). Details of the 2019 GSDR, including bios of the independent group of scientists tasked with drafting it, are available here. The follow up and review at the HLPF are also informed by other relevant inputs.

Members

The General Assembly in resolution 67/290 decides that all meetings of the Forum shall provide for the full and effective participation of all States Members of the United Nations and States members of specialized agencies.

Structure

The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development meets:

Every four years at the level of Heads of State and Government under the auspices of the General Assembly for two days;

Every year under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council for a period of eight days, including a three-day ministerial segment.

General Assembly resolution A/RES/70/299
decided to review the format and organizational aspects of the high-level political
forum on sustainable development (HLPF) at its seventy-fourth session, in order to
benefit from lessons learned in the first cycle of the forum as well as from other
processes under the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council related to the
follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.

Key resolutions

A/RES/67/290 Format and organizational
aspects of the high-level political forum on sustainable development

A/RES/70/1 Transforming our world: the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

A/RES/70/299 Follow-up and review
of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global level

A/RES/72/305 Review of the
implementation of General Assembly resolution 68/1 on the strengthening of the
Economic and Social Council

Relations with the UN system organizations and other intergovernmental organizations

The organizations of the United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions and other relevant intergovernmental organizations, including the World Trade Organization, are invited to contribute within their respective mandates to the discussions of the Forum.

Relations with the major groups and other stakeholders

Member States have stressed the need for the HLPF to promote transparency and implementation by further enhancing the consultative role and participation of the major groups and other relevant stakeholders at the international level in order to make better use of their expertise, while retaining the intergovernmental nature of discussions. The major groups and other stakeholders include non-governmental and non-profit organisations, business and industry, and local authorities, among others. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 67/290, the Forum is open to the major groups, other relevant stakeholders and entities having received a standing invitation to participate as observers in the General Assembly, building on arrangements and practices observed by the Commission on Sustainable Development.

While retaining the intergovernmental character of the forum, the representatives of the major groups and other relevant stakeholders shall be allowed:

To attend all official meetings of the forum;

To have access to all official information and documents;

To intervene in official meetings;

To submit documents and present written and oral contributions;

To make recommendations;

To organize side events and round tables, in cooperation with Member States and the Secretariat;

If you are a representative of a Major Group or other Stakeholder, we invite you to join the Major Groups and other Stakeholders HighIf you are a representative of a Major Group or other Stakeholder, we invite you to join the Major Groups and other Stakeholders High-Level Political Forum Coordination Mechanism (MGoS HLPF CM) and mailing list by completing this registration form, where you can provide more detailed information on your work and expertise regarding the 2030 Agenda and HLPF. If you face accessibility challenges in filling this form, please contact tomos.roberts-harry@un.org